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Secret casino agreement kept from public

Sean Nicholls

Documents relating to the casino licence awarded to James Packer have been stamped secret by the NSW gambling regulator. Photo: Reuters

Key documents relating to the lucrative casino licence awarded to billionaire James Packer at Barangaroo have been stamped secret by the NSW gambling regulator, which argues their commercial sensitivity trumps the public's right to know.

Documents outlining how the so-called "restricted gaming facility" will operate from November 2019 have been released by the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority following its decision to issue Mr Packer a VIP-only casino licence.

Included in the documents is a list of agreements struck between Mr Packer's company Crown Resorts, its related entities and the NSW government, the gaming authority and the Minister for Hospitality, Troy Grant.

The agreements set out the rules for the casino including who may enter, the types of games which may be played, minimum bet limits and tax rates.

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Eight of the agreements were to be "executed contemporaneously" when the casino licence was issued on July 8.

The names of seven of those agreements and the parties involved in them have been made public.

But one agreement has been completely censored by the authority. Even its title has been redacted, as have the identities of all parties to it.

A spokesman for the authority said secrecy provisions meant information it obtained in the course of carrying out its functions cannot be divulged unless it promotes the objects of the Casino Control Act, is deemed in the public interest and is not commercially damaging.

"The information redacted in the VIP Gaming Management Agreement document would, in the view of the authority, not promote the objects of the relevant act and be commercially damaging to the licensee or related entities if released," he said.

"It was the authority's view the public interest in its disclosure did not outweigh that potential harm."

The spokesman said the authority had "satisfied itself that the material it did release would not do commercial harm to the licensee and that the publication of the material was in the public interest".

But Greens MP John Kaye said the decision meant the casino deal was "wrapped in secrecy".

He said the Greens would move in the NSW Parliament next week to subpoena the documents using the "call for papers" process by which the upper house can demand to see the details.

Under the process, documents deemed commercially sensitive may be released under privilege to MPs, who are forbidden to make their contents public.

If MPs believe they should be released in the public interest, they can apply for a decision from an arbitrator.

"If this is entirely innocent, then the government should be happy to allow upper house MPs to see the documents," Dr Kaye said.

"If not, then it's clear that they are running cover for James Packer and Crown."